Understanding Knowledge Management Environment: A Holistic Approach

Abstract:

Information Technology has guided many companies to the new arena of leveraged knowledge and collaboration making them to rethink how works gets done by linking people through electronic media. However, knowing is a human action that depends on experience but which evolves as well with new insights. The difficulty in knowledge management application relies in the people’s mindset and how it will influence the organizational culture. This paper describes the current knowledge management landscape and focuses on the mindset required to make knowledge delivery happen. “Markets for knowledge have existed for a long time; however, they have been highly inefficient”. Knowledge Management Systems are growing in importance and they will strongly influence the management activities of companies in different ways. In this era of globalization making the best informed decisions possible based on knowledge have become the first priority. In response, many companies have turned to knowledge management systems to share knowledge and information on a more systematic structure. They have been transforming themselves to adapt to these new requirements of dynamic organizational culture that includes the different mindsets of the individuals who support the organization. However, Knowledge Management Technology is not working, due to the fact that it is based more on a publishing model rather than collaboration management. IT plays an important role in the exchange of information but it has to be balanced with the human-centered approach. The ways in which business are managed are affected by the cultural values and associated behavior patterns and sometimes conflicting practices that operate in the environment. The main challenge is to combine the “hard skills” of business task and the “soft skills” of the way individuals interact and communicate. Knowledge Management is one of the most important requirements for making the Integration Systems a real, competitive, and widely-implemented organizational concept.